Case registered after a poster saying ‘Muslims are prohibited from entering’ was found outside Sinhagad Fort in Pune. On the other hand, Maharashtra ATS has started questioning 66 people who were in contact with the Pakistani gangster. They are accused of instigating the youth and involving them in anti-national activities.
Objectionable poster in Sinhagad Fort, case registered
Pune (Maharashtra) [भारत]July 16 (ANI): Pune Rural Police has registered a non-cognizable (NC) offense against an unidentified person. The action was taken after an objectionable poster was found at the entrance of the historic Sinhagad Fort, which claimed that Muslims were not allowed to enter the fort, a police officer said on Wednesday.
According to a senior Pune Rural Police official, the poster was seen close to the vehicle parking area near the main entrance of the fort in the early hours of Wednesday. It was pasted on an old metal board and was removed soon after the authorities were informed. The poster, written in Marathi, claimed that the fort “belongs to Hindus” and “Muslims are not allowed to enter.” It also had the words “as per orders” written on it, to give the impression that it was an official instruction. Police said no such order had been issued by any government department. An NC has been registered against an unknown person, and further investigation is underway to identify those who put up the posters.
ATS started interrogation of 66 suspects
Earlier on Tuesday, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) began questioning 66 people from Pune district who were “found to be in contact” with Pakistani gangster Shehzad Bhatti. The investigation is being conducted at various locations with the assistance of Pune City Police Commissionerate, Pune Rural Police and Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate.
According to a press release, the interrogation began at 7:00 am. The action has been initiated on the suspicion that Bhatti was using social media platforms to influence and encourage youth to indulge in anti-national activities. Maharashtra ATS had launched a statewide operation on July 10, during which it started questioning 102 people who were suspected to be in contact with Bhatti through social media. The action was carried out by 58 ATS teams in 14 regional units of the agency in Maharashtra.
According to the ATS, preliminary investigation and inputs from various agencies suggest that Bhatti and his associates allegedly used multiple or fake accounts on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Telegram and WhatsApp to establish contact with Indian youth. The agency alleged that the network tried to exploit religious and socially sensitive issues to create resentment and radicalize the youth. It was also claimed that unemployed and economically weak youth were allegedly lured with financial incentives to participate in anti-national and anti-social activities.
Investigators suspect that the network was also involved in collecting confidential information, facilitating drug trafficking, transporting illegal weapons and creating sleeper cells or local agents to carry out activities detrimental to national security. The ATS has appealed to citizens, especially the youth, to avoid interacting with unknown or suspicious persons on social media and urged parents to keep an eye on the online activities of their children. It reiterated that strict action will be taken against anyone found involved in activities endangering the security of the country. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)